and more

outside walls of the medina
the spice vendor. i was looking for herbs to do a foot soak in my bidet. what else are you supposed to do with those things? i soak my feet in them.

photo op with ginger. styled by the spice guy.

abdellah and i. he is wiring my lamps. he even took me to the hardware stand and discutered my wires and whatnot.

courtyard where abdellah's shop is located

abdellah's shop

all the shops here are in a hidden courtyard around a fig tree. the men all work on the crafts they sell all day. abdellah became my friend and seriously hooked me up wiring stuff for the lamps i got.

more medina

Medina!

too many treasures
this is an old moroccan menorah. there used to be a significant jewish minority here for thousands of years. people say they were the best craftsmen. you still see stars of david used as a motif. the little divets are for oil and wicks used for hannukah instead of candles. there are lots and they are BEAUTIFUL

too much to choose from. . .

you just turn and turn in the medina and get lost. the doors are amazing.

antique door and furniture store. keith, you would freak out.

look up, look around, there are treasures and nooks everywhere

the carving is incredible

jammed with goodness. anthropologie heaven.

doors galore.

more pix

Momma cat
part of the living room

fountain thing

front foyer

breakfast nook

house of hydrangeas

front garden

front walk

house from street

Pictures!

These are all out of order, but should be an enticement to visit! Looking into living room, roses
Living room

Looking upstairs

A spare room

2 more spare rooms

part of my room

one day this will be a waterfall, in sh'allah

oujda, these things are see through, FYI

Oujda, lunch with the Bendaha family -- thank you!

water seller, medina in Oujda

outside of medina in Oujda

Morocco!

I don't even know where to begin. I've been thrown right into the mix of things and have been working day and night and weekends. No internet at home yet so I am taking advantage of the hotel I'm in up on the Algerian border.

I am truly at a loss for words for the power of the work that Moroccans all around the country are doing for Moroccan-US relations. I have been to a Ministry of Youth Music camp, seen American High school students learning Arabic, given orientations to Moroccan students going to America, a basketball camp in the far north (Oujda and Nador), the Oujda American Corner, given TV, internet, and radio interviews in French, and oh yeah, learned how a US Embassy works (well, sort of).

I am totally and completely exhausted, yet energized by the power of the programs and the work so many people put into making them happen. The below pictures are from a trip this week.

2 students from Oujda singing "A Coat of Many Colors" - they were amazing

A play about Cinderella in English. This is in Oujda American corner in the conservative north.

Basketball Camp girls in Oujda

Nador girls!

I don't know why this river is this color, but it incredible. I begged the driver (thank you Larbi!) to stop

Walls of the imperial city of Fez. All of these I took from the window of the moving car, no time to stop! :(

Graveyard, somewhere near Fez

Roman ruins dot the countryside everywhere

Who knows, but it's beautiful

Walls around Fez, thousands of swallows fly around and sit in the ventilation holes

The medina in Fez

Entrance to Fez medina, the biggest in the Muslim world

A museum in Fez, they just had the Sacred Music Festival the night before

This is the most beautiful country in the world